Mike McCarthy has a 7-2 record in Week 2 of the preseason in his coaching career. That's a great sign for live bettors of the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
If history is an indication, Aaron Rodgers is going to spend two or three drives on the field on Sunday night. That has more or less become the modus operandi for McCarthy in the preseason when injuries haven't been an issue. Rodgers actually ran three drives in the preseason opener as well against New England, going 11-of-19 for 117 yards.
Scott Tolzien is likely to get a lot of reps as well, while Brett Hundley and Matt Blanchard will finish the game up. Expect to see more than just six passes out of Hundley in this game, even if it means Blanchard doesn't get a chance to play.
This whole preseason has been the Landry Jones show in Pittsburgh. In two games, Jones has thrown all but three passes for the Steelers.
Ben Roethlisberger went 3-for-3 last week in the Steelers' second exhibition, but he should see a little more time before turning the ball over to Jones once again.
WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL
The Steelers have turned Jones loose, and they're going to let him run this offense as if it is Big Ben running the show. They only ran the rock 20 times last week against Jacksonville against 51 called passing plays.
Of Jones' 24 completions, 11 went for at least 10 yards, proof that he is going to be allowed to stand in the pocket after five-step or seven-step drops and pick out receivers.
From an efficiency standpoint, 22 incompletions is a heck of a lot in any given game, but it did create a ton of plays in the game and should again in this one.
WHEN GREEN BAY HAS THE BALL
We're surprised the Packers ran 81 plays in their opening game against New England, especially knowing there were only 33 total points in their 22-11 win.
The offense was fairly balanced, but the common thread was poor play by the offensive line. Green Bay averaged just 3.34 yards per carry after Eddie Lacy left the game as the main running back, and the reserves got the backup quarterbacks sacked a total of four times against a defense which wasn't particularly aggressive either.
If the Steelers show a little more aggression and creativity than New England did, they could have a real upper hand in this battle. Once the starters leave for Green Bay, live bettors could be faced with a great opportunity to pounce.
TREND TO TRACK
The real issue at hand isn't just McCarthy and his 7-2 record in Week 2 of the preseason. It's that Pittsburgh is now 1-9 in its last 10 preseason games overall, yet it is favored by a field goal in this one.
Yes, the preseason is generally a crapshoot, but live bettors have a real opportunity here to take advantage of certain situations. The Packers have the better quarterbacks as we see it, and the fact that McCarthy has consistently just let them run Rodgers' normal offense instead of asking them to run a scaled-back operation is why this team has continued to be really good this time of year. In this run of nine wins, Green Bay is outscoring its opponents by almost 10 points per game from the second quarter on after Rodgers (or at the beginning, Brett Favre) leaves. That's truly notable and tangible for live bettors to remember.
The NFL odds for this Sunday contest were first released by BookMaker, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were positioned as 3-point favorites with a total of 41. Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers is set for Sunday, August 23, 2015, at 8:00 p.m. ET at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. The matchup will be televised live on NBC 2 and CBS 2.
